Hess Industries, Inc.

What Hess Industries, Inc. does

Hess Industries, Inc. operates commercially as Grotnes (with sub-brand Formitt Metal Labs), a privately held metalforming company headquartered in Niles, Michigan. The firm provides custom metalforming solutions and prototyping services for industrial manufacturers, producing components such as exhaust catalytic converters, couplings, filter housings, and rigid packaging products. It combines a dedicated prototype initiative (Formitt Metal Labs) with full-scale metalforming production services, positioning itself as a one-stop provider from prototype through bridge manufacturing and private label production.

The company leverages 125+ years of stated industry expertise and operates a single North American facility with on-site process development capability, enabling it to support customers from initial prototype through transition to independent machine operation. Its underlying technology is conventional metalforming — the customization comes from engineering expertise and process integration rather than from proprietary software or automation platforms. There is no evidence of patents, certifications, or third-party technology partnerships in the source data.

The business model is direct sales with quote-based pricing (not publicly disclosed), targeting enterprise industrial customers primarily in North America. The company maintains a digital presence through its website (with Request a Quote functionality), LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube channels, supplemented by a careers page for talent acquisition. With 27 employees, no disclosed funding, no M&A activity, and no public ownership, the firm appears to be a small, established, privately held industrial operator with limited external growth signals.

Name

Hess Industries, Inc.

Legal name

Grotnes

Website

https://fontijneformitt.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hess Industries, Inc. (operating as Grotnes / Formitt Metal Labs) is a privately held metalforming company in Niles, Michigan that provides custom prototyping, bridge manufacturing, and private label production services to industrial manufacturers across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Metalforming & Manufacturing Services

NAICS

All Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (33299)

SIC

Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products (3490)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

Keywords

• Custom metalforming services
• Metal component prototyping
• Industrial metal fabrication
• Bridge manufacturing services
• Private label production

Headquarters

HQ city

Niles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hess Industries, Inc., doing business as Grotnes, provides custom metalforming manufacturing and engineering services from its North American facility in Niles, Michigan. Through the Formitt Metal Labs prototype initiative, the company develops custom metal shapes and components such as exhaust catalytic converters, couplings, filter housings, and rigid packaging products, and extends into production services including bridge manufacturing until new machines are delivered and private label production to customer requirements.

Product overview

Grotnes operates as a unified metalforming solution provider, combining its prototype initiative Formitt Metal Labs with full-scale production services. Formitt Metal Labs drives innovation through prototyping and custom component development, while Grotnes leverages over 125 years of industry expertise to offer metalforming production services including bridge manufacturing and private label production. The company's North American facility enables full on-site process development, allowing seamless transition from prototyping to independent production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Formitt Metal Labs: Grotnes' prototype initiative focused on developing custom shapes and components through advanced metalforming and engineering. Offers metalforming production services including bridge manufacturing and private label production.

Products and services

• Formitt Metal Labs A prototype initiative that develops custom metal shapes and components through advanced metalforming and engineering. It is offered to industrial manufacturers requiring cost-effective and quality-driven custom component development.
• Metalforming Production Services Production-scale metalforming services including bridge manufacturing until a customer's new machine is delivered and private label production to customer specifications, positioning Grotnes as an extension of the customer's operation.
• Custom Metal Components Custom-manufactured metal components such as exhaust catalytic converters, couplings, filter housings, and rigid packaging products, produced via advanced metalforming for industrial manufacturing customers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Komaspec: Custom sheet metal fabrication and prototyping service provider serving industrial OEMs, comparable to Grotnes' Formitt Metal Labs prototype and bridge-manufacturing service.
• Empire Metal Works: Custom metal fabrication shop specializing in industrial and structural metal forming, paralleling Grotnes' custom metalformed industrial components business.
• Anchor Manufacturing Group: Custom metal stamping and fabricated metal components supplier serving industrial customers, overlapping with Grotnes' metalformed couplings and filter housings.
• Pieper Industries: Specialty metal stamping and fabrication house providing prototype-to-production services, directly analogous to Grotnes' Formitt Metal Labs prototyping-to-production model.
• BTD Manufacturing: Custom metal stamping, fabrication, and contract manufacturing provider serving industrial OEMs, closely aligned with Grotnes' custom-shape and bridge-manufacturing offerings.
• Mayville Engineering Company: Diversified metal fabrication and stamping manufacturer serving industrial and heavy-truck markets with custom formed components, directly comparable to Grotnes' custom metalforming and prototyping model.

Broad incumbents

• Mueller Industries: Diversified manufacturer of copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products with broad metal forming/fabrication capabilities that overlap with Grotnes' industrial component scope.
• Schuler Group: Global manufacturer of metal forming presses and equipment used in stamping and forming; relevant broad incumbent shaping the metalforming equipment ecosystem in which Grotnes operates.
• Worthington Industries: Large publicly traded metal processor and converter serving construction, automotive, and industrial end markets, offering overlapping capabilities at significantly greater scale than Grotnes.
• SMS group: Large industrial plant and metal forming equipment supplier serving metal producers worldwide, representing the broader metalforming industry incumbent that anchors the technology Grotnes uses.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/grotnesinc
• Facebookfacebook.com/GrotnesInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hess-industries-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hess Industries, Inc.